9/5 Hudson Valley pitching update & notes

Hudson Valley lost at Staten Island 17-0 last night. RHRP Marquis Fleming (24th round, 2008), who had not allowed a run in his last 18 IP, made his first professional start, and possibly his last:

Pitcher	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO
Fleming	3.0	6	7	3	2	1

Fleming just can't pitch on the road:
Home ERA: 0.00
Away ERA: 5.06


Robert Della Grotta (37th round, 2007) relieved Fleming and could do no better:

Pitcher	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO
Della Grotta	1.0	3	3	0	2	0

Della Grotta also can't pitch on the road:
Home ERA: 1.15
Away ERA: 4.58



Then it was Matthew Long's (34th round, 2008) turn to get torched:

Pitcher	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO
Long	3.0	5	5	0	3	2

Long continues the road woes:
Home ERA: 3.08
Away ERA: 11.57


Finally Thomas Rafferty (28th round, 2008) closed out the game with a scoreless inning:

Pitcher	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO
Rafferty	1.0	1	0	0	0	1

And guess what, Rafferty's splits:
Home ERA: 0.00
Away ERA: 7.50


YTD totals for the four:

Pitcher	Age	G	GS	IP	ERA	FIP	DIPS	SO/9	BB/9	H/9	HR/9
Fleming	21.9	16	1	35.0	3.86	4.91	4.77	8.5	3.6	8.0	1.5
Della Grotta	23.9	18	0	33.1	2.97	4.13	3.86	8.6	5.1	7.6	0.5
Long	23.9	15	0	27.1	7.57	3.71	3.55	11.5	4.3	11.2	1.0
Rafferty	23.6	15	0	20.2	4.35	2.38	2.32	10.9	3.9	7.4	0.0

Tonight was supposed to be the final game of the year, but the game has been cancelled. On Friday the Rays announced Hudson Valley will remain a Rays' affiliate through 2010:

"The American League East-leading Rays and the Fishkill franchise signed a two-year extension of their player development contract Friday morning, keeping the Renegades as Tampa Bay's short-season, Class A affiliate for throughout the 2010 season.

"One of the things you look for in any relationship is stability," said Marvin S. Goldklang, part owner of the Renegades. "There has been a consistency and stability to the relationship which isn't commonly found these days."

Tampa Bay and Hudson Valley forged those ties more than a decade ago, two full years before the former even fielded a major-league team.

Beginning as a Texas Rangers affiliate when they began play at Dutchess Stadium in 1994, the Renegades became a co-op team for both Texas and Tampa Bay minor-leaguers in 1996."

Bowling Green (A in 2009, replacing Columbus) already has a radio deal, now if they would just pick a name (Mammoths?).

"Bowling Green Pro Baseball, the Class-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, and Forever Communications today announced a two-year partnership that will make "1340, WBGN, The Ticket" and www.1340wbgn.com the radio home for all 140 Bowling Green Pro Baseball games, home and away, through 2010."

And finally, BA has a nice article on Princeton's LHSP Matt Moore (8th round, 2007). Here are some highlights:

"Moore uses an arsenal that includes a four-seam fastball that sits 92-95 mph along with a changeup and a slider. Moore has been on a pitch count limiting him to 75 pitches per game, [Princeton manager Joe] Szekley said

"I think he'll be a major league starter if nothing happens to him and he stays healthy," an American League scout said. "He's got three pitches and he keeps getting better, so I don't see why he can't be a major league starter."

Another AL scout went a little further, saying that Moore's combination of stuff and makeup gives him the potential to be a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher in the big leagues.

"I'm going back a ways, but he kind of reminds me of Tom Browning," the scout said. "He's kind of got that bulldog-type of approach. Those types of guys just win — they get to the big leagues and they stay there.""

Moore's final stats for 2008:

Pitcher	Age	G	GS	IP	ERA	FIP	DIPS	SO/9	BB/9	H/9	HR/9
Moore	19.2	12	12	54.1	1.66	1.64	1.62	12.8	3.1	5.0	0.0